Trial Of The Century
by Quazie89
Summary: When Bad Cop is severely injured in a violent hit and run, it's up to Emmet and Lucy to find out who did it.
1. One: Stake Out

**Author's Note** : Hello, again! I told you I would be back with another fan fic based on a Liam Neeson movie, didn't I? This one's based on the Lego movie, of course, and it takes place sometime after the movie. Also, with the exception of Unikitty, who is still kind of a horned cat, only with fur, all of the Legos are human, because I didn't think it was possible for Legos to get arthritis. Oh, and one more thing before I go, in this story, I kind of see Bad Cop/ Good as change of moods, instead of two different people. I hope you enjoy the story!

One:

Stake Out

Heavy snow fell outside the Bricksburg bank, one of the many owned by President Business. Except for the dozen or so police cars parked out front, and the drama that was unfolding inside the building, this would have been just like any other day in December.

The place was being robbed. They had gotten the call that morning, and they had been staked out ever since. Bad Cop had been trying to negotiate with the robber for hours now, but hadn't had much success. He was getting tired.

Standing next to Dennis, his new apprentice, Bad Cop leaned against his police car for support, holding his microphone up to his mouth. 'I'll give you one last chance," he said, his deep, gravel-like voice, thick with his Irish accent, booming out across the parking lot. "If you bring out the hostages, we will try to make some kind of deal with you, all right?"

Then, the doors to the bank opened, and a head popped out around the door, but Bad Cop and Dennis were too far away to make out who it belonged to. "You promise?" the head asked.

Bad Cop muttered a few inaudible words, but anybody who knew Bad Cop could've guessed they would've been foul and inappropriate. "Yes," he said, doing his best to reign in his temper. "I promise."

Bad Cop had been lying, of course. He might've been bad, but there was still a little Good Cop in him. There was no way he was going to make any deal with the robber. Sure, he still thought of himself as a Good Cop, but Good Cop would never lie, and he had to be Bad Cop for situations like this.

Dennis looked over his shoulder at Bad Cop and grinned, his face flushed from both excitement and the cold. "I think they're getting ready to come out," he said, his voice trembling with the anticipation.

Bad Cop grunted. "I hope so," he said, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his hand. "I'm getting tired of standing in this icebox." The pain in his hand was getting worse. It always did when it got cold. He suspected he had arthritis, but he hadn't told anybody, yet, fearing he would be ridiculed by his fellow officers.

Dennis laughed. "What's the matter, Grandpa, not getting too old for this job are you?" he asked, echoing his fears.

Bad Cop grimaced, hoping Dennis hadn't seen him. _I'll make you think,_ _Grandpa_ , he thought, wondering how he had gotten saddled with Dennis, but he had nobody to blame but himself.

Bad Cop had taken Dennis under his wing when no one else would, not wanting the burden of a new apprentice. There were some in the force who thought Dennis was still a little too green, too trigger-happy, to be in this business, but, to be honest, Bad Cop did, too, though he remembered when he had been just like Dennis at that age, and he saw a little bit of himself in the lad.

Sure enough, seconds later, just as Dennis had claimed, the doors of the bank opened and the hostages came out of the building, none of them looking as if they had been harmed. They crossed the parking lot, and walked over to the cop cars, making it back to the other side alive.

"Now, come out with your hands up!" Bad Cop ordered, bellowing into the microphone again.

Once the hostages had made it out, a young boy, a boy younger than Dennis, stepped out of the bank, holding his head down. He made the journey across the parking lot, just as the passengers had, holding his head down and shuffling his feet. As soon as he made it to the other side, Bad Cop staggered over to him, handcuffed him, and hauled him into the backseat of the car.

Turning to Dennis, Bad Cop scowled in disgust, lowering his gun. "They're getting younger and younger ever year," he said.

Dennis hadn't heard him over the howling wind. "What was that?" he asked.

Bad Cop shook his head. "Never mind," he said, and was beginning to open the car door when Dennis grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to the side.

Dennis stared past Bad Cop, gazing into the backseat of the car. "I know him," he said, his face white.

Bad Cop raised a bushy, skeptical eyebrow at him. "Him?" he asked, tilting his head at the robber sitting in the backseat of the car. "How?"

Dennis took a deep breath. "From my street days," he said. "He was in the same gang I was in. He's name's Alex."

Bad Cop shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said, and slid onto the driver's seat with great difficulty, bowing his head in order to fit his lofty, six-foot frame in the vehicle. Once again, he hoped Dennis hadn't noticed, but, if the boy had, he gave no sign. "We'll talk about it later."

Dennis went over to the passenger's side, opened the door, and shut it behind him when he got into the car. Once he was inside, Bad Cop drove off, and couldn't have been happier to leave the place behind.

* * *

Bad Cop and Dennis, for the most part, were silent during the trip to the police station, but Alex taunted Dennis all the way there.

"Hey, Dennis, long time no see," he said when Bad Cop and Dennis had gotten into the car. "Big policeman now, eh?"

With one warning look from Bad Cop, Dennis chose to ignore him, deciding to stare out of the windshield instead.

Alex wasn't about to be deterred. "So, think you're too good for us now, huh?" he went on, trying his best, Dennis thought, to rile him up.

Bad Cop, however, took the bait. "Shut your trap!"

Alex amused by the whole thing, laughed. "Watch it, you old geezer," he said. "I've got people watching you."

Bad Cop let out a sardonic laugh. "You think I'm afraid of a bunch of little punks like you?" he asked.

Alex still wasn't swayed. If anything, he seemed more determined than ever. "You look you're about to fall apart and break into dust any second now," he said. "I think I could take you on."

Dennis looked over at Bad Cop, and saw Bad Cop flexing his hands on the wheel, causing the veins to bulge out on his gnarled fingers.

Dennis let out a mournful sigh.

This was going to be a long drive.

* * *

Bad Cop and Dennis walked out of the police station hours later, stepping out into the cold night.

Dennis looked up at Bad Cop. "What are you going to do with Alex?" he asked, hunching his shoulders against the wind.

"What we usually do," Bad Cop said, walking to his car. "Give him a fair trial, and if he's guilty, we put him in prison."

Dennis shrunk away from Bad Cop. "He hates me now," he said, hanging his head in shame. "He thinks I'm a traitor."

Bad Cop stopped in his tracks, turning around to look at Dennis. "More than likely, but those days are behind you now," he said, opening the car door. "It won't do you any good to worry about it. Trust me."

Dennis still wasn't reassured. "Maybe, but I still think something bad's going to come out of this, just you wait and see," he said, watching Bad Cop open the car door. "Where are you going anyway?"

Bad Cop gaped at him in disbelief, as if Dennis should've known what he had been planning. "To get a drink," he said, almost falling into the car. "I could use one."

Dennis glared at him. "You're not drinking," he said, grabbing one of his hands. "Not while I'm around. I'm not going to be responsible if anything happens to you."

Jumping back from Dennis, Bad Cop pulled his hand back, holding it against his chest.

Dennis let go of his hand. "I'm sorry," he said, backing away from Bad Cop. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Bad Cop opened the driver's side door, sat down behind the wheel, and drove off, spinning snow into Dennis's bewildered face.


	2. TWO: Officer Down

Two:

Officer Down

Shivering, Bad Cop stepped out of the blizzard swirling around Bricksburg and into the warm, comforting glow of the bar and took his helmet off, running his trembling hand through his thinning, grey hair, which was caked with sweat.

 _It's too cold, much too cold for a stake out, and I'm getting too old_ , he thought, every ancient bone in his cold, tired body aching and creaking in protest to every little movement he made.

Good Cop had been thinking about retiring for a long time, but every time he mentioned quitting to the other men in the force, they would just laugh at him, and Bad Cop wouldn't let him leave, either.

 _Just wait until there all old and senile like me,_ he thought, struggling to unzip his jacket with his big, awkward hands. _Then they'll see_.

Feeling hot all of a sudden, despite the cold, Bad Cop unzipped his jacket at last, sat down at the bar, and ordered a beer. Watching the barman pour his drink, he wondered how a person could be cold and hot at the time, like the way he was feeling now. He had never thought such a thing could be possible.

The barman came over to him. "Long day?" he asked, sliding his beer across the table to him.

Bad Cop nodded. "You have no idea," he said, and wrapped his claws around the mug, his gnarled, withered, fingers fumbling to hold the mug in his arthritic hands. "Just had a stake out." His lips curled up into a snarl. "Some kid trying to rob a bank." He snorted, scrolling his eyes to the ceiling. "He had no idea what he was doing." Letting his head fall back down, he gave the barman a toothy grin, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "He had hostages, but we made a deal with 'em that, if he let 'em go, we would give 'em what he wanted, which was more money, so like an idiot he believed us, and everybody got out all right." Lifting it to his mouth, he was about to take a swig of it when his hands, giving a sudden twinge of pain, locked up, and he dropped the mug in shock. He yelped in both fear and agony, watching the beer spill out across the bar with regret, and cradled his hands against his chest.

Bad Cop whimpered, flinching away from the barman, Good Cop resurfacing "I didn't mean…to do…that…" he said, wanting nothing more than to crawl up in a hole and die, but all he could do was sit there and wait for the pain to stop, having never felt so helpless and ashamed before in his life.

The barman got a towel from somewhere behind the bar, and began to wipe the beer off the table. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, wiping the rest of the beer off the bar. "Arthritis, huh?" He sat the overturned beer bug upright, and threw the towel behind him. "My ma had it real bad before she died. She was a good woman." His face turned solemn. "It gets the best of us."

Once the pain had faded, Good Cop loosened his body, feeling the tension leave his shoulders.

The barman looked over at him. "Are you all right?" he asked, seeing Good Cop lower his hands.

"For now," Good Cop said, gripping his knees with his hands. "It'll come back later, though." As if to confirm this, his hip began to throb, and he winced. "It always does."

"Want another beer?" the barman asked.

Good Cop shook his head. "I've already had one beer too many," he said, standing up with a pained grunt. "I shouldn't even be drinking to begin with."

The barman nodded in understanding. "It's probably for the best," he said. "I don't want you to get out and get shot just because I got you drunk. I know a lot people around here don't act like it, but we really appreciate all you do here, and all of the sacrifices you have to make in order to keep us safe. I would hate to see anything bad happen to you."

Feeling some of the embarrassment he had felt earlier evaporate, Good Cop turned to leave, laying the barman a tip on the bar. When he got to the door, he gave the barman one last look over his shoulder, a flicker of a faint, but grateful smile flashing across his face, before he opened the door and walked outside, shutting it behind him.

Good Cop was unprepared for the relentless assault of the wind that almost knocked him down when he stepped outside, and Bad Cop returned. Blinded by the snow, he staggered foreword, hoping it wouldn't take him long to find his car. When, after a few minutes had passed, and he had still had no success with finding the vehicle, he stopped

"Hey, what are you doing out here, old man?"

Bad Cop froze at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of fear, he plunged his hands into his pockets, searching for the gun. When he found the weapon at last, he almost had it pulled out, when his hands locked up again and he dropped it.

Bad Cop swore under his breath.

"Pick it up, Grandpa!"

Another voice said. They both sounded young. _Probably a bunch of young punks_ , Bad Cop thought, one of his stiff hands groping the small of his back. _I'll make 'em think, Grandpa_. Groaning, he bent down to pick up the gun, his back burning with an intense stinging sensation flaring up and down his spine. Biting his lip to keep from crying out again, he fumbled for the weapon, his hands twisting into stiff claws. Just as he decided to leave the gun there to rust in the snow and rise back up, he felt something like the force of a boulder being dropped on top of his legs, bowling him over and knocking the breath out of him. Gasping, he clutched his heaving chest, looking down at his legs. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of the twisted, mangled limbs, before everything got dark.


	3. THEE: Good News And Bad News

THREE:

Good News And Bad News

Emmet and Lucy were sitting on the bottom bunk of the double-decker bed Emmet had invented, both of them engrossed in the latest episode of Where's My Pants, when the phone rang.

Lucy, sitting on Emmet's lap, with his warms wrapped around her, stirred a little bit. "You want to get that?" she asked, not wanting to move.

Emmet shook his head. "No, not really," he said, his legs shifting under her. "How about you?"

"No, me neither," Lucy said, stretching her legs.

The phone rang several more times before Emmet decided to answer it.

The young construction worker sighed. "I'll get it," he said, pushing himself up.

Lucy forced her eyes away from the TV, looking up at Emmet. "Been expecting any phone calls?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him. "Whoever it is, they better have a good excuse for disturbing us." With great reluctance, she slid off of his lap, letting him get up off the couch.

Emmet shrugged. "I don't know," he said, going over to the phone. "I wasn't really expecting anybody to call today."

Lucy followed him over to the phone, growing concerned. "Uh-oh," she said, wrapping one of her arms around his waist. "Phone calls like that during the day are never good." She gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "I hope it isn't anything serious, though."

They had been dating for a couple of weeks now, since their first adventure together, and they had grown more comfortable with their romantic relationship. Lucy had, anyway. Emmet, she wasn't so sure about, but she didn't fault him for it. They had both admitted their growing attraction to one another in front of all of their friends, after all, and had come to accept it. They even held hands and kissed in public, Emmet not being shy about returning his affection to her, but he still blushed whenever he did it, something that still annoyed her a little bit. Lucy didn't know if he was embarrassed by their love or if there would always be a part of Emmet that would be a nervous, little schoolboy. Whatever the case, it irked her nevertheless. She had been meaning to ask him about it one day but never got around to doing it.

Emmet blushed, picking up the phone. "H-Hello?" he stammered, flashing a foolish grin at Lucy, who smiled back at him. He twirled his claws through the cord, becoming anxious. "Emmet, here." He coughed, clearing his throat. "Who is this?"

Lucy didn't recognize the voice that answered, and she knew Emmet, judging by the clueless look on his face, didn't either, but it sounded like it belonged to a woman. "This is Kelly," the woman said. "And you said your name was Emmet? Is it Emmet Brickowski I'm speaking to?"

"Yes," Emmet replied. Lucy could hear the already heightened fear in his high-pitched voice rising.

"Mr. Brickowski, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Kelly began, pausing for effect or wafting Lucy wasn't for sure. "Do you know a certain cop…he suffers from multiple personality disorder…says he's a good cop one minute, bad cop the next."

"Yes!" Emmet gasped, putting his hand over his mouth, as if he was stifling a scream. "Oh no!" He looked like he was about to cry, and Lucy stiffened, bracing herself for whatever bad news was coming. "What happened?"

Lucy pressed herself up closer against his side, squeezing his other claw in comfort.

Kelly let out a regretful sigh. "I'm afraid he's been in a terrible accident," she said. "It looks like it was a hit and run."

Tears started spreading down Emmet's cheeks. "How?" he asked, his lips trembling. "Who?" The questions seemed endless. "Is he going to be okay?"

Lucy felt a little relieved when she heard the smile in Judy's voice. "Yes, we think he'll pull through, to answer your last question," she said, causing Emmet and Lucy to share a brief sigh of relief. "He's made it through the worst of it, anyway. " The woman sounded hopeful. "We're going to keep him for a couple of nights, though, just to be safe."

Emmet chuckled. "Tell him we'll be over as soon as we can," he said. "Tonight, maybe?"

"I'm afraid you can't see him tonight," Kelly said. "He's just got out of surgery, and he's still under heavy sedation. "

Lucy could tell Emmet was trying to hide his disappointment. "Okay," he said, and Lucy was relieved he didn't press the matter any further, fearing he would risk the nurse's wrath if he did. "Would you call and let us know when he will able to have visitors again?"

"Yes, sir, I would be happy to," Kelly said. "To answer you second question, though, we don't know who did it, but the police are investigating the case. However, we do know how it happened, but I think it is better to leave it to Bad Cop to tell you, because it is a very personal matter, and I think it should be up to him."

"Okay," Emmet said, satisfied enough with her answer, perhaps, that he didn't feel the need to press their luck. "Where there any other witnesses, though?"

"No," Kelly replied. "The man who found him said he didn't see anybody fleeing the scene when he got there, and most of the people who were there had arrived after the vehicle had ran him over."

"So, there weren't any other witnesses?" Emmet asked, a little disappointed.

"Not that I know of," Kelly said.

"What was the man's name?" Emmet asked.

Lucy was glad Emmet was asking all of the questions, because she had wanted to know the answers to many of them herself.

"I don't know if you would know him or not," Judy said. "He was the barman at the bar your friend visited just seconds before the accident occurred."

"Who?" Emmet and Lucy spoke up in unison, unable to handle the suspense any longer.

"I think the man said he's name was Rick," Judy said. "You know him?"

For a moment, Emmet and Lucy looked at each other, both of them silent. Then, Emmet spoke up. "No, Ma'am," he said, shaking his head. "I'm afraid not."

"I didn't think so," Kelly said. "Sorry I couldn't be more of help."

"That's okay" Emmet said, nodding even though the woman on the other end of the phone couldn't see him. "Thank you for the help, Ma'am."

"You're welcome, young man," Kelly said. "It was my pleasure." Lucy heard a click when the woman hung up the phone.

Emmet sighed, returning his own phone to its cradle. "We've got to go see him, Lucy," he said, turning around to look at her. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but he's been there for us plenty of other times when we've needed the extra help. " He grabbed her arms, shaking her. "Please, come with me."

Lucy didn't have to think twice about it. What Emmet said was true. He and his other friends had had their own fair share of scrapes with Bad Cop before, but after he went back to being Good Cop and started to come to their aid whenever they needed it, she had come to grow fond of the old cop, and would hate to see anything bad happened to him.

Lucy took his hands in hers, clasping them. "Oh, Emmet, you know I wouldn't let you go without me," she said, kissing his hands. "Who else is going to be able to keep you out of trouble?"

Emmet smacked his forehead. "Yeah," he said. "What was I thinking, right?"

Lucy shrugged. "Hey, it's no problem," she said. "What are friends for, right?"


	4. FOUR: Looking For Clues

Four:

Looking For Clues

The next morning, Judy still hadn't called, and Lucy decided it would be a good idea for her and Emmet to go talk to the bartender.

"Why?" Emmet asked after Lucy had told him her plans.

Lucy shoved Emmet in the shoulder, causing him to flinch away from him. "Because, silly, he might have some clues," she said, rummaging around in one of her drawers. "Plus, it will give us something to do while we're waiting on Bad Cop to get better." Having found what she had been looking for, she stood up, and held up a pen and tablet of paper, smiling. "Come, on, let's go!"

Emmet snapped his fingers. "Of course!" he exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Lucy pinched his arm, making him cry out. "Because that's why you got me around, remember?" She grinned at him, dragging him out of the room. "I'm the one who does all of the thinking." She gave a extra tug on his arm. "Come on."

Emmet groaned, still rubbing his sore shoulder. "How do I let you talk me into these things?" he asked.

Showing no sympathy for his bruised arm, she grabbed it, and steered him out the door.

Emmet, having little choice but to follow her, allowed her to guide him to the bar.

Once they were standing in front of the place, Emmet looked up at it, frowning. "I didn't know Bad Cop drunk," he said, a little disappointed in his friend.

"I didn't either," Lucy said, going into the bar. "I can't say I'm really all that surprise, though."

"Why?" Emmet asked.

"He's a cop," Lucy said, as if that explained everything. "Cop's drink. A lot. Most of them do, anyway. It comes with the job. They see a lot of bad stuff happen, everyday, and I guess the drinking helps them keep their mind off of it."

"Oh," Emmet said, unable to come up with anything else.

When they got into the bar, they found the bartender standing behind the table. He looked up when he saw them come in, sitting the pitcher he had been cleaning on the shelf behind him in order to turn and around and look at them. Lucy led Emmet straight to the bar.

"Hello," Rick said, smiling at them. "What can I get for you today?"

Smiling at the bartender, Lucy sat down in front of the bar, pulling Emmet down onto a seat next to her. "Nothing, sir, but thank you," she said, taking a pen and paper out of one her coat pockets. "We were just here to ask you about our friend." She leaned over the bar, and folded her arms across the table, steepling her fingers under her chin. "You might remember him. He was an old guy, a cop."

Rick froze, his face turning white. "Yeah, I remember him," he said, "Hard to forget a guy like that. He was acting all tough and talked no nonsense but I could tell he was hurting when he walked in. I could tell he had arthritis, though, even before he sat down. He was moving slow and stiff, like he had been standing outside too long and had gotten frozen solid, but I knew that couldn't have been the reason because my mom had arthritis, too, and I knew it when I saw it. "

Lucy looked worried. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What was wrong with him?" He wasn't hurt was he?"

Rick shook his head. "No, not like that," he said, sitting down behind the bar with a sigh. "He dropped the mug he had been holding and broke it. You don't have to worry about it, though. I cleaned it up without charging him."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's one good thing that happened that day, at least," she said, shaking her head. "What did you guys talk about, anyway?"

Rick closed his eyes in deep thought. "Nothing much," he said, opening his eyes again. "He just talked about what a rough day he had been having, and after he dropped the mug I told him how my mother had arthritis. Then, I told him how much I appreciated what he was doing for us, because he looked like he needed to hear it from somebody, even if it had to be me, you know?"

Lucy nodded. "What kind of a rough day did he have?" she asked.

"He said he had been on a stake out all day, but everybody had made it out okay," Rick said. "He didn't admit it, and he didn't have to, because you could tell, but he was still pretty tired."

Lucy held her head down over her notebook, writing everything down. "What made you follow him outside?" she asked, and looked up, stilling her pen.

"I was worried about him," Rick said. "To be honest, I felt guilty for letting him have the beer, especially after he had told me had already drunk one too many, even though he hadn't had a lot. I felt responsible for him, and I knew if anything happened to him it would be by fault. "

Lucy frowned in puzzlement. "If he didn't want to drink, why did he come in here?" she asked, tapping her pen against her chin, and Emmet knew she was asking herself the question rather than Rick.

All of a sudden, Rick became flustered, appearing unnerved by the question. "I don't know," he said, trying to hide his by shrugging. "I think he just needed someone to talk to at the moment, and I happened to be the closest person there."

Lucy lowered her pen. "Maybe," she said, "Did you hear anything after you followed him out?" she asked.

"No, the wind was too loud," Rick said. "It was blowing pretty badly. You couldn't see or hear anything that night."

"How did you find Bad Cop then?" she asked.

Rick shuddered, at the memory, perhaps. "I wandered over to the side of the building, until I stumbled over his body," he said, his eyes and voice growing distant. "I saw him lying there, with the blood all over his uniform, and I knew he wouldn't survive the night if I didn't go and get him some help, so I ran back inside and called the ambulance."

Lucy stopped writing long enough to look up at the bartender, her gaze scrutinizing. "That's it?" she asked.

"Yup," Rick said, appearing unruffled by Lucy's interrogating techniques, which reminded Emmet of Bad Cop's.

Lucy wasn't about to back down. "You sure?" she asked.

"Positive," Rick said. "Why are you giving me the third degree anyway? I've cooperated with you. I've answered every one of your questions. What else do you want?"

Lucy rose from the bar stool. "Nothing," she said, grabbing her tablet and pen off the table. "You've given us everything we need." Lucy grabbed Emmet's arm, yanking him off his stool, and gave the barman one last look. "Thank you."

Rick blinked. "You're welcome," he said, watching the odd pair leave.

Emmet waved at Rick as Lucy shoved him out the door. "What was that for, Lucy?" he asked, once they were outside. "The man was just trying to help! What are you, some kind of super detective now?"

Lucy grinned at him. "You know," she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "That's not such a bad idea."

Emmet moaned. "I had to say something didn't I?" he asked, falling silent when he caught sight of Lucy's face. "What's wrong?"

Lucy's demeanor had, all of a sudden, turned solemn. "Let's go over to where Rick said he found Bad Cop," she said, pulling Emmet over to the side of the building.

Emmet, for some reason, thought this was not the time to argue with Lucy, and, without protest allowed her to drag him through the snow.

Both of their faces fell when they approached the crime scene.

Besides the crime scene tape circling the area where Bad Cop had fallen, there was nothing to suggest that anything had happened here at all. The snow had pretty much covered up what evidence there would've been over night. There wasn't even an impression of Bad Cop's body in the snow, or any blood whatsoever, or any of the other things you would've expected to find at a crime scene.

"Poor Bad Cop," she said, kneeling down in the snow next to the tape. "Who could've done this to him?"

Emmet looked around, growing anxious. "Some very bad people," he said, afraid those very same people would come back, returning to the scene of the crime. "Come on, Lucy let's go." He looked back over at Lucy, who was standing up now, and running her hand against the brick wall of the bar. "There's nothing here."

Lucy gazed up at the wall, her expression thoughtful. "There's got to be," she said, closing her eyes.

Emmet walked up behind her, draping a comforting hand over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go home," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "We can come back later. Maybe the hospital's called back."

Lucy turned around to look at Emmet, her expression solemn. "Yeah," she said, lowering her head. "Maybe."

Emmet, feeling guilty for dashing Lucy's hopes, led her back home this time.

* * *

After they got home, Lucy checked all of the messages on the phone, her expression turning crestfallen after she had gone through them all.

Emmet, standing next to her, had a pretty good idea what was troubling her. "Still nothing from the hospital?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Nothing," she said, biting her lip.

Emmet extended her arms around her, embracing her in a warm hug. "I know it's hard, but try not to worry, okay?" he asked, and pulled her away from him, peering into her grief-stricken face. "I'm sure they would've called by now if he…you know…" He trailed off, unable to say the word.

"Yeah, you're right," she said, turning away from him. "I'm sorry for bringing everything down."

Emmet patted her on the back. "Don't worry, you didn't," he said, taking hold of Lucy's hand. "Stop beating yourself up." He started to lead her to their bedroom. "Come on, let's go to bed."

With great reluctance, Lucy allowed him to her guide her upstairs, but he could feel her dark mood bouncing back off of his back in waves.

Emmet didn't know what they were going to, but he did know one thing:

They were going to have to get Bad Cop home, and _fast,_ before Lucy ended up hurting someone, because he feared that someone might be him.


	5. FIVE: Dennis

Five:

Dennis

Morning came once again, and Lucy and Emmet were starting to get more than a little worried. The hospital still hadn't called, and it been almost two days now. Something had to be wrong.

"What else can we do?" Lucy asked, pacing back forth in the living room.

"I don't know…" Emmet said, a thought dawning on him. "We could…but I don't know if he would know anything or not."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"I was just going to say, we could call Dennis, see if he knows anything," he said.

Lucy clapped her hands together, causing Emmet to jump. "You're right!" she exclaimed, snapping her claws in the air. "I should've thought of that!" She ran over to the phone, got the phone book out, and started dialing Dennis' number.

Glad he could be of some use, Emmet stood and waited for Dennis to answer.

It wasn't long before he heard another voice on the end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Lucy said. "Is this Dennis?"

There was a pause for a moment. "Yes," Dennis answered. "Who is this?"

"Hello, Dennis, this is Lucy. How are you?"

"I'd be lying if I told you I was doing great," Dennis said, his voice glum.

Lucy looked alarmed. "Why, what's wrong?"

Dennis sounded distracted now. "Could you come over to my place and talk?" he asked. "I think it would probably be better."

"Yeah, sure," Lucy said, lowering the phone. "We'll be over in a minute. Bye." She hung up the phone.

Emmet gaped at Lucy in disbelief. "What was that about?" he asked.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know, but he sounded like something was really wrong," she said, running toward the door. "He wants us to come to his apartment and talk."

Emmet ran after her. "Man, that does sound serious," he said, shutting the door behind him.

Lucy was still running. "Yeah, I know," she said, refusing to slow down. "I'm worried."

Emmet struggled to catch up with her. "Yeah, me, too," he said, gasping for breath. "I hope nothing's gone wrong." He clutched his side, feeling a painful stitch there.

"Yeah, me, too," Lucy said, but Emmet could barely hear her over the roaring wind rushing in his ears.

* * *

Dennis was waiting on Emmet and Lucy when they got to his apartment, and opened the door for them after he heard them knocking on the door.

Forgetting their manners, Emmet and Lucy stared at Dennis

Dennis looked awful.

He looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep. He was still in his bed clothes, and there were deep circles under his eyes. He was about the same age as Emmet, but he had blond hair instead of brown, and, on one of his good days, he was just as handsome, but Emmet and Lucy, unfortunately, had caught him on one of his bad days.

"You look terrible," Lucy said, stating the obvious.

Dennis didn't try to deny it, and he didn't seem insulted. "Yeah, I know," he said, attempting to stifle a yawn with his hand, but to no avail. "I haven't been sleeping well since Bad Cop got ran over, maybe even before that."

Lucy gave Dennis a look of concern. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Dennis motioned for them sit down on the sofa in the living room. "Please, sit down, first," he said, heading toward the kitchen. "I was just getting ready to fix breakfast."

Emmet and Lucy sat down together on the couch.

"Thank you, but we ate before you came," Lucy said, not looking very impressed by the surroundings.

Dennis, just like everybody else in Bricksburg, lived in a small apartment he could barely afford on the wages he was making, but Emmet thought he had done his best with what he had. There were three rooms, including the living room, bathroom, and kitchen, and they were all filled with wide variety of necessities and decorations. Emmet even spotted a picture of him and Bad Cop on a shelf that was hanging on the wall to the side of the couch.

Emmet nudged Lucy on the shoulder. "Hey, Lucy, look at that," he said, pointing at the picture.

Lucy looked where he was pointing, and smiled. "Hey, that's cool," she said, standing up to go look at the picture. "I wonder when this was taken."

Emmet stood up to go look at the picture with Lucy. He grinned when he saw it. After a closer look, he could see Bad Cop and Dennis were standing in front of their police car, Bad Cop with his arm over Dennis's shoulder. Both of them had big smiles on their faces.

Walking back into the living room, Dennis caught them staring at the picture. "Oh, that was taken during my first day on the job," he said, sounding proud. "That was a good day." Sadness came into his wistful voice. "We were both happy."

Lucy reached for the picture. "Do you mind?" she asked, turning back to look at Dennis.

Dennis shook his head.

Lucy took down the picture. "Thank you," she said, rubbing her hands along the frame. "This is a rare picture you got here. Bad Cop's actually smiling."

Emmet chuckled. "Yeah, I never thought I'd see that," he said, glancing over at Dennis to see his reaction.

Much to Emmet's surprise, Dennis was smiling, too. "Yeah," he said, walking up next to Emmet. "Those were happier times."

Lucy narrowed her stern brow at Dennis. "If there's something you need to tell, us Dennis, you can tell us now," she said, squeezing his arm. "You need to."

Dennis was awkward, all of a sudden, staring down at his shoes. "I'll be back," he said, going back into the kitchen.

Emmet and Lucy looked at each other and shrugged. Before either of them could say anything, however, Dennis was back, carrying a biscuit on a plate. "I hope you don't mind, but I fixed myself something to eat," he said, his expression sheepish. "I was kind of hungry, and I remember you said you already ate."

Lucy dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. "That's all right," she said, sitting the picture back on the shelf. "I'm sorry, but we can't stay long, anyway. We've got to get back home. We're expecting a very importing phone call." She gave Emmet a look.

Emmet knew his queue when he saw it.

Emmet blinked in bewilderment, his mouth gaping open, and shook his head. "Oh, yeah," he said, trying not to let her see that she had caught him off guard. "We would like to stay longer, but we've got to get back home."

"Oh, okay, then," Dennis said, in between a mouthful of biscuit. "Let's go sit down, and after I eat, we'll talk, okay?"

Lucy and Emmet nodded, sitting back down on the couch. Dennis sat down beside of them and started eating. After he finished, he told them everything, just like he said he would.

Lucy had brought her pen and tablet with her, and had taken them out when Dennis started talking, writing down notes as fast as Dennis could speak. "So, you think Alex might've been behind Bad Cop getting run over?" she asked, once Dennis had finished.

Dennis started to nod, but shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I want to say it was him, but I can't for sure. I don't have enough evidence, and Bad Cop, when he was Good Cop, always told me to make sure I had enough evidence to convict someone before I brought charges against them."

Lucy laid her tablet and pen on her lap. "That is good advice," she said. "That sounds like something Good Cop would've said, too."

"Sorry I couldn't I have been more of a help to you," Dennis said. "As soon as I hear anything, though, I'll let you know."

Lucy rose from the couch, shaking Dennis's hand. "Thank you," she said. "You did all you could, and Emmet and I appreciate your help."

Emmet stood up as well, stretching his arms. "Yeah, thanks," he said, shaking Dennis' claw, too. "It means a lot to us."

Dennis managed to give them a small smile. "I'm glad I can help," he said. "You need anything else, just drop on by."

"You got it," Lucy said, saluting Dennis with her claw. "See you later."

Emmet threw his hand up at Dennis, too. "Bye," he said,

Dennis stopped them just before they went out the door. "Wait," he said, running up to them. "There's one more thing I got to tell you."

Lucy's hand hovered over the doorknob. "What?" she asked.

Embarrassed, Dennis rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from Emmet and Lucy. "On the night Bad Cop got ran over, after we took Alex to the police station, Bad Cop and I…we kind of left on bad terms," he said.

Lucy dug into her coat pockets, bringing out the pen and tablet again. "Why?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing really," Dennis said. "He just wanted to go get a drink, and I wasn't going to let him go, you know, so I grabbed his claw to stop him, but I must've hurt him because he cried out. Then he got mad and stormed off in the vehicle. I couldn't stop him."

Lucy wrote all of this information down without looking up. "Why do you think Bad Cop got mad?" she asked when she had finished writing everything down at last.

Dennis shrugged. "I don't know, but I think he has arthritis," he said. "I think that's' why it hurt him when I grabbed his hand."

Lucy looked puzzled. "I wonder why he didn't tell us, though?" she asked

"I don't know," Emmet said. "Maybe he just wasn't comfortable with telling anybody, yet, not even his close friends."

Lucy's eyes winded. "Do you think this is what the nurse wouldn't tell us?" she asked. "That Bad Cop had arthritis?"

It sounded plausible to Emmet. "Maybe," he said, thinking about it for a moment. "But that still doesn't explain why he got ran over."

Lucy's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yeah, you're right," she said, putting the pen and tablet back in her pockets. "Maybe it's something we can go on later, though." She began to open the door. "Thanks for everything, Dennis." She opened the door, giving Dennis one last wave.

Dennis waved back at them. "Bye," he said, looking sorry to see them leave. "Let me know if you hear anything else about Bad Cop. I tried to visit him the other day but they wouldn't let me see him."

"We will," Lucy said, standing on the doorstep. "They wouldn't let us see him, either, but we'll call and let you know as soon as we hear anything."

"Thank you," Dennis said, still waving. "Bye."

"Bye," Lucy and Emmet said, continuing to wave at Dennis before Lucy shut the door behind them.

They walked away from the apartment, both of them silent

Lucy was the first one to speak up. "I hate to leave him like that, but we got no choice," she said, hunching her shoulders. "We've got get back home in case the hospital calls us."

Emmet had to agree with her. "Yeah, but he still looked like he could've used a couple of friends, didn't he?" he asked.

Lucy, all of a sudden, stopped. "Emmet, you just gave me a great idea!" She grabbed Emmet by the arms and began to shake him.

Emmet was beginning to feel dizzy, and Lucy was starting to swim in front of him. "What?" he asked, holding a hand to his forehead.

"As soon as Bad Cop gets better, I want to throw a party for him, you know, like a welcome home kind of party," Lucy said.

Emmet's mood brightened. "Wow, Lucy that is a great idea! Are you going to call everybody and invite them over to our place?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I'll call Benny, Unikitty, Metalbeard, and…"

Emmet's cheerful mood vanished. "And even Batman, right?" he asked, not too thrilled by that part of the plan.

Lucy narrowed her eyebrows at him. "Yes, even Batman," she said, giving him another painful nudge on the shoulder. Emmet was getting a lot of those lately. "Come on let's go." She grabbed Emmet by the arm once more, and together, the two of them ran down the street, rejuvenated by their new plan.

Things were starting to look up again.

* * *

Their elation evaporated in an instant when they got home.

After Emmet went through the messages, it was clear the hospital still hadn't called.

Lucy's face had gone pale. "What do we do now?" she asked, her voice faint.

Emmet didn't know what to say. "I…I…I don't know," he said, running out of ideas. "Maybe you can go ahead and call Benny, Unikitty, Metalbeard, and -"

Just then, the phone rang, causing both of them to jump.

Emmet ran to the phone. "I'll get it! " He grabbed the pone off the receiver and held it up to his head. "Hello?"

A familiar, female voice answered the phone. "Hello, is this Emmet?"

"Yes," Emmet said, his hopes rising.

"Hello, this is Kelly again," the woman said. "I have some good news for you and Lucy."

Emmet held a hand over his mouth, stifling a shout of joy. "What news…I mean, hello, Judy," he said, struggling to contain his excitement. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine," Kelly said, and Emmet could hear the amusement in her pleasant voice. "How are you?"

Emmet let out a nervous chuckle. "Good," he said, somehow managing to control himself. "So…uh, what's the good news?"

Judy laughed, surprising Emmet. "I'm pleased to inform you that Bad Cop's awake now, and he's ready to have visitors," she said. "He's been asking for you."

"Wow, that's great!" Emmet wasn't even bothering to conceal his excitement now. Well, tell him we'll be over as soon as we can, okay?"

"I'll make sure to," Lucy said.

"Okay," Emmet said. "We'll see you there, then. Bye."

"Bye," Kelly said.

"Bye," Emmet said, hanging up the phone.

Lucy was staring at him, a hopeful look on her face. "Who was that?" she asked.

Emmet smiled at her. 'It was Kelly, Lucy," he said, taking hold of Lucy's hands in his own. "She said Bad Cops's awake now!"

Lucy squealed, jumping up and down in delight. "Let's go see him," she said.

Lucy didn't have to ask Emmet twice. "Okay," he said, grabbing Lucy by the hand. "Let's go!"

They ran out the door, and Emmet shut it behind them, neither one of them looking back.


	6. SIX: Long-Awaited Visitors

Six:

Long-Awaited Visitors

Bad Cop lay in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling. Not for the first time since he had been in the hospital, his hand went to his bandaged legs. The doctors had told him not to scratch them, that they would get infected if he kept on doing it, but he did it anyway. He couldn't help it. They itched like crazy. The doctors had said that he might not be able to walk again, but there was a still a chance that he could. They had told him he was lucky to be alive, but he didn't feel very lucky at the moment. Instead, he felt old, alone, and afraid, even though his parents were standing by his side. He had never felt his age more than he did at that moment.

As if sensing his thoughts, his mother gave his hand a gentle squeeze, knowing he had arthritis. He had told them after he had woken up and seen them standing at his bedside, thinking that, more than anybody, they had deserved the right to know.

"Are you all right, son?" she asked him. "Something wrong?"

Bad Cop shook his head. "No, mother," he said, trying to give her reassuring smile, "I'm all right." As much as he loved her, there were still some things he couldn't tell his mother, and his fear of growing old and dying alone was one of them.

Ma Cop didn't look reassured. "You don't look all right to me," she said, raising her eyebrows at him. "What's troubling you, my boy?"

Bad Cop grimaced. Even after everything that had happened, after everything he had been through, she still called him her boy, all though he was well-over fifty and she was at least eighty years old herself. "Well, I just got ran over for one thing, Ma," he said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "I'm not feeling my best at the moment."

"I know, honey, I know," Ma Cop said. "I know you're not feeling good, but that's not it. There's something else, troubling you, isn't it?"

Bad Cop's face turned white, and his chin sagged against his chest.

Ma Cop gave him a small smile. "You're wondering how I know you so good, huh?" she asked, winking at him. "You're my son, is all, and I know my son. I can tell."

Bad Cop looked away from her. "Of course Ma, I know you do," he said, lowering his eyes. "I just…it's nothing personal, but there are just some things a son can't tell his Ma.'

Ma Cop looked hurt, and Bad Cop felt guilty for making her feel bad, but there was nothing he do about it now. "This is a man thing, isn't it?" she asked. "This is something about man's foolish pride, isn't Pa?" She jammed her finger in her husband's stomach. "This is something you taught him, isn't it?" Pa Cop took a step back each time his mother poked him.

Bad Cop watched the whole scene with wry amusement. "Ma, Dad's right," he said, somehow managing a weak, lopsided smile. "He had nothing to do with this. It was all on me own."

Just then, the door flew open, and a couple of nurses came in, followed by two people whose faces were very familiar to him.

"Bad Cop!"

The voices belonging to the welcoming faces shouted in unison.

The first nurse narrowed her gaze at them, not too amused by the sudden, disruptive entrance. "I have two visitors here who were very desperate to see you, Bad Cop," she said, not looking too pleased by how the whole situation had gone. "I tried to tell them that you had enough visitors, that you needed you're rest, but nothing I said would persuaded them to stay away from you."

Bad Cop searched the room for them, his eyesight dimming. "Emmet…Lucy…" he said, surprised they had even bothered to come. "You're here?"

Lucy ran to his bedside, grabbing his hand. "Yes, of course we came, Bad Cop," she said, bending down to kiss his hand. "Why wouldn't we?"

Good Cop gave a slight shrug of his shoulder, wincing when even that tiny little movement caused him great pain. "Oh, I don't know…" he said, feeling his eyelids growing heavy. "Maybe…I just thought…after all the disagreements we've had in the past, I guess I didn't think you would want to have anything to do with me."

Lucy leaned over his chest, planting a quick, yet heartfelt kiss on his forehead. "Oh, Good Cop, what in the world made you think that?" she asked, squeezing his hand. "I know we've had our…entanglements in the past, but all of that's behind us now. We're working together. We're friends."

Good Cop swallowed. He didn't deserve her forgiveness, not after all he had done to her and her friends. He wished, right then and there, that he could've taken it all back, but there was no turning back time.

Emmet walked over to his bedside, standing next to Lucy. "How you doing?" he asked, staring down at his bandaged chest.

Bad Cop bit mark a smart remark, beginning to roll his eyes, but Good Cop stopped him just in time. "Not too bad, I guess, under the circumstances", he said, struggling to blink the blurriness out of his gaze. "I think I've had better days, though."

"I say," Emmet said. "So how long do they expect you to be in here?"

Bad Cop, despite Good Cop's best attempts to keep him away, shrugged. "I don't know," he said, feeling frustrated. "They haven't really said, yet. A couple weeks maybe, I guess, just to make sure everything's working right."

Emmet nodded. "That what the nurse told us over the phone," he said. "So, do you know who did it?

Bad Cop shook his head. "I don't know…it's hard to…remember anything…at the moment…" he said, his voice fading along with his eyesight. "I think it was just a bunch of punks."

Lucy looked over at Emmet. "It might've been a gang," she said, a genuine look of concern on her face.

Emmet looked just as worried. "Yeah," he said, rubbing his chin and closing his eyes in deep thought. "I just wonder what they could've been doing there, though…"

Bad Cop could sense Lucy losing a little bit of hope. "So you didn't see who did it," she said

"No," Bad Cop said, whishing he had a better answer. "There was too much snow…I couldn't see..."

Emmet asked the question Lucy must've been wondering as well, if the realization that had crossed her face when he had voiced it was any indication. "Didn't you hear the vehicle coming, Bad Cop?" he wanted to know. "Didn't you look up to see?"

Already feeling small and insignificant Bad Cop, his body dwarfed by the covers, felt himself shrinking. This was the part he had been dreading, but he knew he couldn't avoid it for much longer, and he couldn't lie to them. "Yes to the first question, no to the second," he said.

"Then what were you doing?" Lucy asked.

Bad Cop sighed. "I have arthritis," he said, looking down at his claws. "I've had it for a long time now, but I was too ashamed of it and I haven't told anybody about it until now." He flexed his claws on his chest. "My claws locked up and I dropped the gun, so I bent down to pick it up, and I couldn't bend back up in time to move from the vehicle, okay?"

Lucy gave him a stern look. "No, it is not okay," she said, and took one of his hands in hers, holding it with gentle care. "You should've told someone. You have no reason to feel ashamed, Bad Cop. You're our friend. We wouldn't have judged you. We would've done everything we could to help you. If you told one of us before we might've been able to stop this from happening and you wouldn't be here right now." Tears fell down her cheeks.

Emmet wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.

All of a sudden, Bad Cop's eyes widened in fear, and Good Cop came back. "Ma…" he said, his other hand probing for his mother. "Where are you, Ma?"

Ma Cop stretched herself over the bed, grabbing her son's hand. "I'm right here, son," she said, shaking his hand to let him know she was there. "What's wrong?"

Good Cop turned in the direction of his mother's voice, unable to see her. "I'm scared…" he said, seized by an unexpected, paralyzing panic. "I can't see…" He convulsed on the bed, ripples of pain washing over his body in waves. "It hurts, Ma…"

Ma Cop swerved around to look at the lead nurse. "He needs his medicine," she said, somehow managing to keep her voice calm and her face composed even though her son was suffering excruciating pain and even faced possible death. "He's hurting."

The nurse leapt into action. "Out," she said, pushing Emmet and Lucy toward the door. "There are too many people here." Emmet and Lucy recognized her voice, realizing it was Kelly.

"Hey!" Emmet and Lucy protested together, trying to push their way past the nurse, but they didn't get far.

"You can't do this," Lucy said, her voice pleading. "He's our friend."

"Yeah," Emmet said, just as desperate. "We have to know if he's going to be okay."

Their pleas fell on deaf ears.

Kelly threw them out of the room, shutting the door in their faces.

* * *

Emmet and Lucy sat in the waiting room. Lucy hid her face in her hands while Emmet held her close.

"He'll be all right," Emmet said, hoping he sounded reassuring. "He's a tough old cop."

Lucy sniffed. Lifting her head up, she looked over at Emmet, wiping tears out of her eyes. "He was so scared, Emmet," she said, and stared down at her hands, tightening her left one into a fist. "His grip…on my claw…it was so tight…I can still feel it."

"Everything will be fine," Emmet said. "You'll see."

Just then, the door swung open, and Kelly stepped into the waiting room.

Emmet and Lucy stood up at the sight of her. "What happened?" they spoke up together. "Is he going to be all right?"

Kelly held up her hand. "Slow down," she said, motioning them to sit back in their seats. "One at a time."

Emmet and Lucy did as she said, but with great reluctance.

Once they were seated, Kelly folded her hands over stomach. "I'm sorry I was so…disrespectful to you before, but we had to make sure there was enough room in case we had to perform a last-minute surgery on Bad Cop," she said. "It has happened before."

"I guess so," Lucy said, hanging her head. "We were just worried about Bad Cop, is all."

"He is our friend, after all," Emmet said. "We didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Kelly gave them an understanding smile. "Well, I guess you're anxious to hear news about your friend," she said.

Lucy's head shout up. "Is he going to be okay?"

Kelly nodded. "Yes, we think so," she said. "He just had a minor setback but he'll be okay. He's resting right now, though."

Lucy sighed with relief. "Oh, that's good," she said, "I'm glad to hear that!"

Emmet smiled. "Yeah, me, too," he said. "So, when can we go in and see him?"

Kelly's expression turned grave. "I'm afraid you don't," she said, and put her hand up when Lucy started to rise from her seat, ignoring the "Not tonight, at least."

Lucy glared at her, allowing Emmet to push her back down in her seat, "When can we?" she asked.

Kelly hung her head. "You're welcome," she said, and walked away.

Lucy stood up from her seat. "We'll just come back tomorrow, than," she said, grabbing Emmet's hand. "We don't won't to disturb him, do we, Emmet?"

Emmet shook his head. "No," he said, standing up with Lucy. "You're right." He let her lead him toward the exit. "Let's go."

Together, they walked out of the hospital, holding hands and taking comfort in each other's company.

* * *

Bad Cop found himself in a strange place.

Nothing looked familiar. Everything was white, and he was floating. He hadn't been able to float before. How was he able to do it now?

Pondering over this new development, he looked around, to see if he was alone. At first, he thought he had been the only person in this place, but then he spotted a figure, off in the distance, all dressed in white, standing in the middle of this vast, alien landscape.

Thinking he had nothing else to loose, Bad Cop waved to the stranger. "Hello?" he called out, surprised to hear his voice echoed. "Who are you?"

The figure didn't turn right away, and for a moment, Bad Cop thought he hadn't heard him. He was getting ready to call out to the stranger again when, at last, he turned, and Bad Cop gasped in horror.

After getting a closer look at the stranger, Bad Cop discovered that whoever it was had no eyes, and there were holes were they used to be. Despite this, however, the ghostlike figure was wearing a thin, jagged smile.

"Why, hello, Bad Cop," the ghost said, waving a staff in front of him. "It is nice seeing you again."

Al of a sudden, Bad Cop remembered. "Vitruvius?" he asked, having thought he would never see the wizard again.

"Bingo," the dead wizard said.

"What are you doing here?" Bad Cop asked, once he had gotten over his shock.

"I'm here to make sure you go back to your body," Vitruvius said, sweeping his staff across the great expanse of whiteness. "Right now, you have found yourself in purgatory, my friend. This is where all the like you go to when they don't know where to go after they are dead."

Bad Cop recoiled in horror. "You mean…I'm… I'm dead?"

Vitruvius nodded. "Afraid so," he said. "It is not time for you to die, yet, though."

Bad Cop was more confused than ever before. "Then how did I get here?" he asked, scratching his head.

Vitruvius paused to think for a moment. "There was a…uh… a little misunderstanding," he said, leaning against his staff. "A slight mishap, if you will."

"Can you take me back, then, please?" Bad Cop asked. "I need to get back to my Ma and Pa. They're going to be very worried."

Vitruvius rubbed the area where his chin would've been if he still had a face. "Ah, yes, they would," he said. "You're quiet right." Without warning, he aimed his staff at Bad Cop and muttered a few words. "You best be getting back to them, then."

"Yeah, that's great, but what are you doing -" Bad Cop began to protest, but was cut off as Vitruvius and the White Place vanished, and he found himself back in the hospital bed, staring back up at his parents. They were both staring back down at him, tears running down their faces.

"Welcome home, son," they said.

Bad Cop had never been happier to see them.

* * *

Kelly called the next day.

Lucy was the one who answered the phone this time. "Hello?" she asked, still dressed in her nightgown.

Kelly answered right away. "Hello, this is Judy again," she said. "Is this Emmet?"

"No, this is Lucy," Lucy said,

"Oh, my apologizes," Kelly said. "I just called to inform you of some really good news."

Lucy tried not to squeal. "Oh, what is it?" Lucy asked.

"Bad Cop has fully recovered, and he'll be ready to come home next week," Kelly said.

"Oh, thank you!" Lucy's heart soared with exhilaration "That is good news! I'll be sure to tell Emmet!"

"I would appreciate it if you would," Kelly said. "Bye, for now."

"Bye," Lucy said, and hung up the phone.

Emmet, who had been standing behind her, smiled. "I take it that was good news?"

With a whoop of joy, Lucy grabbed him, spinning him around in circle. "Bad Cop's coming home! That was Judy! She said Bad Cop had fully recovered and that he would be able to come home next week!"

Emmet threw his fist in the air. "Yes!" He kissed Lucy on the cheek. "We got to tell everybody!"

Lucy sat Emmet down at last and ran back over to the phone. "I got that covered," she said, and began to dial.

Everyone had agreed to come to Bad Cop's homecoming party, even Batman, but he had expression serious reservations at first, due to the fact that he and Bad Cop had shared their fair share of disputes over the years.

Lucy wrote off his voiced fears with a good-natured laugh. "Nonsense," she said, even though she didn't know if Bad cop would like Batman to come to the party or not. She just wanted Batman to come. She and Emmet might've been dating, and she, but she still liked looking at the Cape Crusader. He was pure eye-candy. "That's all in the past now." She hoped she was right. "He would want you to come."

When Lucy had convinced Batman to come to the party, and he had agreed, Lucy hung up on him. "Done," she said, turning around to face Emmet."That's all of them." She hesitated. "Now I only need to call Dennis." Turning back to the receiver, she began to dial Dennis' number.

Dennis answered on the first couple of rings. "Hello?"

"Hello, Dennis," Lucy said, her voice as cheerful as it could be. "This is Lucy."

"Oh, hi, Lucy," Dennis said. "It's great to hear from you again! How are things going?"

"Great!" I just wanted to call and tell you that the hospital just called."

Emmet's face had gone dark. "Lucy, I think that one's taking it a little bit too far," he said.

"I know, but Bad Cop stopped Lord Businesses' bank from being robbed, and I think the least he could do is thank him by coming to the party," she said.

Emmet threw his claws up in frustration. "I know, but, Lucy, you know Bad Cop and Lord Business had a falling out," he said, growing exasperated. "Lord Business might've changed for the good, in the end, but he still ended up betraying Bad Cop, and we don't know how he feels about that."

Lucy wasn't about to back down. "Yeah, I know, but Lord Business gave him his job back, remember?" she asked.

"Yeah, but Bad Cop had some serious doubts about it," Emmet said, still not sounding sold on the idea. "You can call him if you want to, though, Lucy. This was your idea."

Lucy turned back to phone. "Right," she said, and picked it up, beginning to dial Lord Business' number.

Much to Lucy's surprise, the Business mongrel answered it on the first couple of rings. Lucy had thought would've been too busy to talk with a poor, low-life citizen like her.

"Hello, who is this?"

After hearing his voice, Lucy's stance became stiff and guarded. There was something off about Lord Business' attitude, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Hello, Lord Business, this is Lucy," she said, her tone cautious. "I don't know if you remember me or not, but I tried to destroy your plans for world domination?"

"Yeah, I remember you," Lord Business said, catching Lucy off guard. She hadn't expected him to remember her at all. She had tried to ruin him. Maybe he had changed for the better. "You were that hot Goth chick that used to hang around Emmet all the time, right?"

Lucy blushed, not knowing whether or not to be flattered or crept out by the fact that a man old enough to be her father found her desirable. "Yes, that was me," she said, thinking the conversation had gotten awkward. She hadn't expected it to go this way. Come to think of it, she didn't know what she had expected, but, whatever it had been, it hadn't been this.

Lord Business laughed. "Why, hello, babe!" Lucy couldn't believe it. He didn't sound like he wanted to kill her. If anything, he sounded happy. Happy? Happy to hear her voice? She wouldn't accept such a possibility! She refused! "How's it hanging?"

Lucy was appalled. "I was just calling to let you know we were having a homecoming party for Bad Cop," she said. "I don't know if you knew this or not, but he was ran over the other night, and he's been in the hospital for awhile."

"Yeah, I had heard about that," Lord Business said. "I'm glad the old codger is getting to come home, though."

Lucy suppressed a moan. "Thank you, Lord Business," she said. "I'm sure Bad Cop would appreciate your sympathies, and I will pass them along to him." She gagged, fighting the bile rising up in her throat. "I just wanted to ask you if you would come to Bad Cop's party. I think it would mean a whole lot to him if you came."

Lord Business sounded intrigued. "Oh, really?" he asked. "What kind of party?"

"We're holding a homecoming party for him when he comes back from the hospital," Lucy said, struggling to keep the disgust out of her voice. "We're going to be eating cake, and opening presents. You can bring your own if you want-"

"PRESENTS?!" Lord Business bellowed, and Lucy had to pull the phone back from her ear. "That sounds great! I'll be sure to bring one -"

Lucy cut him off, unable to take anymore. "Great, bye," she said, hanging up the phone.

Emmet looked amused by the whole thing. "What was that all about?" he asked.

Lucy shuddered, feeling, for some reason, extremely dirty all of a sudden. "You don't want to know," she said, dusting her hands on her pants, as if she had dirt on them. "I never want to talk to that man again."

"Why?" Emmet asked. "What did he say?"

Lucy sighed, her shoulders sagging. "He said he would come to Bad Cop's party, but Emmet, I almost wished I hadn't called!" "He…he didn't sound like the old lord Business that I remember," she said, "He was…believe it or not, _nice_." She almost spit out the word. "The man was so nice it was disgusting!"

Emmet clutching his stomach was bent over double with laughter. "It was your idea!"

Lucy punched him again, this time in the stomach. "That was for laughing at me," she said, storming out of the living room.

Emmet watched her leave, trying to figure out what he had done to deserve such violent treatment, and shook his head.

He would never be able to figure out Lucy, or all girls, for that matter. They were all the same to him. Some things just never changed.


	7. SEVEN: An Officer, Gentleman, And Woman

Seven:

An Officer, A Gentleman, And A Woman

Not long after Lucy had called him, but not before he had called the hospital to check to see if it was okay, Dennis decided to go see Bad Cop. They had never had the chance to have the talk Bad Cop had promised him, and he thought now would be a good time for Bad Cop to make good on his promise, if the old man was feeling up to it, of course.

Arriving at the hospital, he went up to the front desk and asked the nurse who was working behind it at the time if she could give him the number to Bad Cop's room. When she did, Dennis thanked her and took an elevator go up to Bad Cop's room, which was on one of the upper floors.

Dennis knocked. After a few minutes passed, and he got no answer, Dennis opened the door. Bracing himself for the worst, he stepped into the room.

Bad Cop looked better than Dennis thought he would. He was sitting up, his back resting against a mountain of pillows, and looking as if he was about to fall asleep. He looked up when Dennis walked in.

"What are you doing here?"

Not exactly the warm welcome he had been expecting, but Dennis took it, having not expected anything less from Bad Cop. "I thought we'd have that talk you promised me," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Bad Cop rubbed the back of his head. "What talk?" he asked.

Dennis gave Bad Cop a nudge on the foot. "Remember, that talk you promised me before you stormed off on me the other day," he said.

"Boy, I don't remember anything that happened before I got my legs crushed," Bad Cop said, sticking a finger in his ear. "You're going to have to refresh my memory a little bit."

Dennis felt his cheeks blush a deep scarlet. "Right, sorry," he said. "I didn't think."

"You never do," Bad Cop said." Now, get on with it."

Dennis, trying to hide how much he had just hurt him, reminded Bad Cop of the night they had arrested Alex, and how Bad Cop had told him not to worry about his fears of Alex seeking revenge on them. He also of his promise to talk to him later on the subject of his f

Recognition dawned on Bad Cop's tired, wizened face. "Yeah, I remember now," he said. "That Alex punk. He was the one who robbed that bank. You said he used to be one of your friends, right?"

"Yeah, back in my street days," Dennis said, wishing he could go back in time, erase those days, and do things a little bit differently.

Dennis knew Bad Cop was fighting back exhaustion, but the old man was putting up a strong front. "What kind of boy was he, growing up?" he asked.

Dennis thought back on it, his mind going back to a time and place he had never wanted to go back to. "Oh, I don't know," he said. "He was about just like rest of us, I guess; young, reckless, and hated just about everybody."

A crooked, lopsided smile curled up the corner's of Bad Cop's mouth. "That was how you were, when I found you, remember?" he asked.

Dennis shuddered. "Don't remind me," he said. "I wish I could forget it."

But he remembered. He remembered how he had woken up in a hospital bed one morning after a wild night of roughhousing on the streets with the boys, to find Bad Cop standing over his bed, much like how Dennis was now, in a wicked twist of irony. To this day he still couldn't remember what happened, but Bad Cop had told him he had gotten into a fight with one of the other boys, who had given him the black eye. "Boy, if you keep on going the way going now, you're on your way Juvie faster than you can blink ," the old man had said with a snap of his fingers, looking younger and less world-weary than he did now.

Dennis didn't know what had overcome him then. He didn't know if he had experienced an epiphany or what, but Bad Cop's words had struck home, and he had taken them to heart. He joined the force, working himself up the ranks under Bad Cop's tutelage, until he earned the honorable position of being the old cop's partner.

It hadn't taken Dennis long to realize that there had been something Bad Cop had seen in Dennis that he hadn't seen in the other boys. He had taken him in and cared for him as if he had been one of his own, without asking for anything in return, and Dennis would always be grateful for the old man's kindness. He had a feeling if it had been any other cop who had found him, he would've been put in shackles and hauled off to jail without a bond.

Dennis stared at Bad Cop. "Why did you take me in?" he asked.

Bad Cop blinked at him, his expression blank. "What?" he asked.

Dennis pointed a finger at his chest. "Me," he said. "Why did you take me in and none of the other boys?"

Bad Cop sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I'll be honest with you, Dennis," he said. "I can't lie to you. I saw a little bit of myself in you when I was the age you were then."

Dennis looked around the place, which was making him feel miserable. "So, how are they treating you here?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

Bad Cop, needless to say, appeared annoyed by the question. "Don't get me started," he said, with a grunt. "The food's terrible, the bed's as hard as a rock, and I don't know what they call this, but it's not a pillow." He started to punch the pillow with his fist when his hands tensed up, and he let his head fall back against the pillow. "The service's not too bad, though."

Dennis grinned, catching the look that had come across Bad Cop's face. "Got a woman on your mind?" he asked, becoming amused when he saw Bad Cop flush with embarrassment.

Bad Cop smiled. "Kelly," he said, "She's been taking care of me ever since I've been here."

Dennis was about to reply when the door opened, and he and Bad Cop turned to see a young woman enter the room. She was short and slender, and kept her light, auburn hair pent-up on the top of her head in a bun.

"Speaking of the devil," Bad Cop said when she came in.

Dennis backed away from the bed. "Is this Kelly?" he asked, going over to the woman. "Bad Cop's been telling me about you." He held his hand out, hoping she would shake it.

Kelly pretended to look horrified. "Oh, I hate to hear what he's said about me!" She shook Dennis' hand, making him feel more at ease. "Nothing bad I hope?"

Dennis shook his head. "No, he was just telling me how good you are about taking care of him," he said, "I was just wanting to thank you."

Kelly blushed. "Why, thank you," she said, turning her head away from Dennis. "I'm happy to take care of him." Once she had regained her composure, she glided over to Bad Cop's bed, her movements so graceful she almost appeared to be floating off the floor.

Dennis couldn't help but stare after her in awe. He could see why Bad Cop was so smitten with her. She was absolutely stunning! If Bad Cop hadn't already had eyes on her, Dennis would've gone for her. She was a whole lot younger than Bad Cop, anyway, and was closer to Dennis' age, but Dennis couldn't do that to his old partner.

Kelly ran her hand over Bad Cop's forehead. "How are you feeling, honey?" she asked, squeezing his hand.

Bad Cop stared up at her, pure adoration on his face. "Much better now," he said, and took her hand in his, kissing it.

 _Why, that sly old fox!_ Dennis thought, shaking his head. Unable to believe what he was seeing, he stepped out of the room, without a word. He didn't even think they had noticed he was gone.

* * *

Dennis waited outside the door, shutting it behind him, and leaned up against the wall.

He didn't have long to wait.

Kelly came out the door a few seconds later, shutting the door behind her. When she started to turn down the hall way, Dennis jumped out in front of her, causing her jump. She would've screamed if Dennis hadn't put his claw over her mouth. "I'm sorry for startling you, Judy," he said, lowering his hand. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"What about?" Kelly asked, after Dennis had removed his hand from her mouth.

Still afraid she would run off on him, Dennis talked as fast as "Uh, this might seem a bit forward, but I was just wanting to ask you a personal question, if that was okay," he said,

Kelly seemed taken aback, at first, but seemed to warm to the idea. "Sure," she said, her stance and expression still guarded.

Dennis softened his voice. "What do see in Bad Cop?" he asked. "I'm not trying to judge you or anything, but he's a little old for you, isn't he?"

Dennis had expected Judy's to turn red from embarrassment, but, much to his amusement, she winked at him instead. "Maybe," she said, lowering her voice. "He just reminds me of my Grandpa, is all." She shrugged, acting as if it were no big deal. "My dad died when I was still young, and he was there for me when my dad wasn't."

Dennis was the one who was blushing with shame now. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to bring that up, but you and Bad Cop just seem like such an odd couple."

Kelly laughed. "I suppose you can say that," she said. "Yeah, I guess we are, when you think about it like that. " She shrugged, cocking her head. "Well, you know what they say." Her full, attractive lips formed a pretty, but impish smile. "Opposites attract, right?"

Startled, Dennis took a step back in surprise, amazed by her boldness. She might've seemed mousey on the outside, but deep down her deviousness was equal to that of Bad Cop's. Maybe she and Bad Cop weren't so different after all. "Yeah, I think that's true, in your and Bad Cop's case, anyway," he said, beginning to walk off. "Hopefully we can see each other again soon." He threw a hand up over his shoulder and waved at her.

Dennis couldn't see Kelly's actions, but he could sense she was waving back at him. "You bet," she said. "I hope to see you again soon, too."

After Kelly had gone into the elevator at the other end of the hallway, Dennis followed her down the hall, and went home.


	8. EIGHT: Homecoming

Eight:

Homecoming

Bad Cop, just as Kelly had promised, came home the next week. A couple of days after he got to come home, Emmet and Lucy had convinced him to come over to their place, claiming they had something they wanted to give him.

"What is it?" Bad Cop asked. He was sitting in a wheelchair, and had to use a cane when he walked. Emmet and Lucy had to help her carry him up the steps. They had brought him to the house. Kelly had wanted to but had to work that day.

"We can't tell you," Lucy said, giving him a sly grin.

"Yeah, it's surprise," Emmet said, opening the door for them.

Bad Cop grumbled something under his breath. "I don't like surprises," he said, curling his lips up into a snarl.

"SURPRISE!"

Bad Cop almost jumped out of the wheelchair.

Everyone had jumped out of their respected hiding places. Benny, Unikitty, Metalbeard, Batman, and Dennis were now all standing in the living room, holding out the presents they had brought Bad Cop. Lord Business was late. Emmet hoped he didn't come. He looked over at Bad Cop to see his reaction, and was surprised to see that Bad Cop's face had switched to Good Cop's. He switched his gaze over to Lucy, to see if she had noticed, and judging by the smile on her face, he thought it was safe to say that she had.

Unikitty was the first one to come up to Good Cop, balancing the present she had for him on her back. "Welcome home, Good Cop!" Tilting her head to lick Good Cop on the cheek, Unikitty started to hop around Good Cop, conjuring up rainbows and butterflies in the air. "I'm so glad your back!"

Bad Cop, needless to say, looked disgusted by all of the good cheer, but didn't seem angry. More than anything, he seemed embarrassed, judging by the color that had risen in his cheeks. "Hello, Unikitty," he said, and Emmet grinned, knowing it had killed him to say it.

Batman made a face. "Ugh, leave the old fart, alone, Unikitty," he said, "You're going to give him bad indigestion."

Unikitty began to pout. "I will not," she said, bending down to poke Batman in the chest with her horn.

Batman grasped his stomach. "Ow!'

"Better be getting used to that, Batman," Emmet said,

Batman groaned.

Lucy held up her hands. "Okay, everyone!" She raised her voice, "Time to set down!"

Everybody obeyed, sitting down.

Lucy began to speak. "Now, as we all now, our good friend Bad Cop, unfortunately, was ran over the other night," she said, resting her claw on Good Cop's shoulder.

This announcement was meant with angry grumblings all around the table.

Lucy cleared her throat. "As I was saying," she said. "As of right now, we don't know who did it, but the police are investigating the situation as I speak. Hopefully, they will catch the jerk and we can all have a little piece of mind. In the meantime, I wish to celebrate that Bad Cop is still alive and here with us today."

Everybody cheered.

"Now, what do you want to do first, Good Cop?" Lucy asked, turning to look over at Good Cop. "Eat, or open presents?

Bad Cop looked as if he didn't want to do either one, but Good Cop managed to keep his manners in check. "Eat, I guess," he said, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starving."

Lucy patted him on the shoulder. "We'll eat, then!" she went to chair next to Emmet and sat down. Then, everyone began to eat, most of the meal in silence. After they ate, everyone started to give Bad Cop their presents.

In the end, Emmet thought Good Cop came out with a good haul. Benny had given him a toy spaceship, letting out a cry of "Spaceship!" after he had opened it. He had also gotten a Batarang from Batman, who claimed it would be useful if he ever got into a fight he couldn't solve with a gun, earning a frown from Good Cop. Unikitty had given him a butterfly he could hang up over his bed, saying, "It will make all of your bad dreams go away," and failing to notice Good Cop's rapier Metalbeard had given him . Emmet had given him a wench, the only thing he could think of, telling Bad Cop he could find many uses for it. Lucy had bought him a pen and a tablet of paper .Dennis had given him the picture Emmet and Lucy had found in his apartment.

"Where did you get this?" Good Cop asked, looking up from the picture.

Dennis stood from his seat, went over to Good Cop, and stood over his shoulder. "Don't you remember?" he asked, pointing at the picture. "That was first day on the force."

Good Cop's mouth twitched and Emmet thought he was trying not to smile. "Yeah, I remember," he said,

Good Cop looked exhausted, but happy, and that was all that mattered. "Thank you, everybody," he said. "I'm glad to be home."

"You want to go sit down on the couch?" Lucy asked "I'll help you if you need me to."

He nodded, and allowed Lucy to lift him off of the wheelchair. Emmet looked away, wanting to give the man a little dignity

Good Cop sat on the couch, with Unikitty curled up on his lap, and ran his claws her.

Emmet walked over to them. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked, indicating the couch with a tilt of his head.

Good Cop shook his head.

Emmet sat down on the couch beside Good Cop, looking over at him. "You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Good Cop said, closing his eyes. "I'm a little tired…but I can't complain." Opening his eyes again, he chuckled, smiling down at Unikitty. "Her fur actually feels on good on my aching fingers."

Emmet and Good Cop didn't say anything for a moment, listening to Unikitty's contented purrs.

At that moment, the door opened, and Lord Business walked in.

Emmet and Good Cop sat up, and Unikitty yowled in protest, having been thrown from Good Cop's lap when he had rose from the couch.

Emmet looked over at Good Cop in alarm, seeing Good Cop's face had switched back to Bad Cop's. The old man was hunched over the couch, one of his claws grasping the arm of the sofa and his other one clutching his cane, and it took Emmet a moment to realize that he was trying to get up. "Bad Cop, no!" he protested, shooting up off the couch to grab him by the arm.

Bad Cop shoved him off. "What's Lord Business doing here?" he asked.

Lucy walked over to them, her expression impassive. "I invited him, Bad Cop," she said.

Bad Cop aimed his cane at Lucy. "Why?" he asked, waving the cane at her "That man tortured me, Lucy!" Then, he shook his cane at Lord Business, causing the other man to flinch. "He tortured me and then he betrayed me!" He slammed the cane down on the floor, causing everybody to jump. "You had no right to invite him here!"

"I wanted him to thank you, Bad Cop," Lucy said, after everyone had regained their composure. "I wanted him to thank you for saving the bank the other day."

Bad Cop lowered his cane. "How did you know about that?" he asked, narrowing his brow in suspicion.

Emmet knew Lucy wouldn't lie to Bad Cop, but he knew she didn't like to rat on her friends, either. "Dennis told us, but it wasn't his fault," she said, holding her head up high. "We asked him to."

Bad Cop his turned accusing glare on Dennis. "Why?" he asked.

To Dennis' credit, he didn't quail from his partner's condescending gaze. "They needed my help, Bad Cop," he said. "I wanted to help. Someone hurt you, and I wanted to find out who did it."

Bad Cop's eyes darted from Lucy to Dennis, and flitted back to a cringing Emmet, before he sagged back in the wheelchair. "I'm too tired to fight right now," he said, and, almost as if to prove his point, he yawned and tried to stifle it with one of his claws, but didn't have much success. "I'm too old to fight anymore.' He lowered his hand, his entire arm trembling with the effort it had taken him to move it.

Lucy changed the subject. "I'm going to clean up," she said, and pointed to the kitchen, running off in that general direction.

Bad Cop didn't say anything. Instead, he glared at Lord Business the entire time. No one said a word until after the presents were opened, and everybody had eaten and started to leave.

Bad Cop stopped Lord Business before he went out the door. "Stop," he said, reaching for Lord Business' arm and grabbing it. "We need to talk."

Lord Business turned to look at him. "What is it?" he asked.

Bad Cop sighed, and, at last, after what seemed like much internal struggle on Bad Cop's part, Good Cop overcame Bad Cop. "I can't work for you no more," he said, releasing his grip on Lord Business' arm. "I should've quit a long time ago, but, out of stubborn pride, I didn't. Maybe if I had quit sooner I wouldn't be in this wheelchair right now. I don't like to admit it, but I'm getting too old for this business, and my conscious won't let me work for you no more. You betrayed me. You tortured me. You tortured my parents. I can't work for a man who did that to me and my family. I've only stayed this long because I felt like I was the only one who could provide Dennis with the teaching he needed."

Lord Business didn't speak for the longest time, and for a moment, Emmet didn't think he would, until he sighed. "You're right," he said, hanging his head. "I won't force you to work for me anymore. I'm sorry for causing you so much pain. You don't have to, but I hope someday you will find it in yourself to forgive me. I know it's hard for you to believe, but I regret what I done to you, and I hope you can find some way I can repay you."

Good Cop pretended to think about it for a moment. "Maybe," he said.

Lord Business let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, bye, everyone," he said, waving at everyone before he walked out the door. "Thank you for saving my bank, Good Cop." He poked his head back through the door. "Oh, I almost forgot, here's your present." He handed Good Cop a present, sitting it on his lap. "I hope you feel better." He shut the door and left.

Bad Cop put his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling. "I'm glad that's over with," he said, and when he looked back up, Emmet realized with horror that he had been crying.

After Lord Business had left, Dennis came running up to him. "But Good Cop, you can't quit!" he protested, having overhead the entire conversation. "We're a team, remember!"

Good Cop vanished again, and Bad Cop was back. "Quit being ridiculous, Dennis," he said, jabbing a finger at the younger cop. "I'm getting too old for this business and you know it. You've said so yourself, several times."

Dennis let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, but I was joking, Bad Cop," he said, looking hurt. "Don't you know a joke when you hear one?"

Coming back from the kitchen, Lucy stepped in between the two. "Enough of this," she said, stretching her arms out. "You two don't need to be fighting. It isn't good, so just drop it."

"I don't want to fight," Bad Cop said. "I just want to go bed. I'm tired. I hurt. I want to go home."

Lucy winced. "I know you do, Bad Cop," she said. "And I know you hurt, and I'm sorry, but I just wanted to do something good for you to make you feel better, and I 'm not apologizing for the party. Emmet and I missed you when you were in the hospital, Bad Cop. We were worried. We wanted you to come home, and we wanted to do something that would make you feel at home. I don't regret that we tried, even if we might've failed, because it made me feel good." Emmet knew Lucy was hurting, but Lucy, being Lucy, showed no emotion whatsoever. "I just hope you get to feeling better soon." With that, she left the room without a word, giving nothing away.

Emmet gave Bad Cop a sympathetic look. "Try not to be too mad at Lucy, Bad Cop," he said. "She really was just trying to give you a good time. I warned her it probably wasn't a good idea to invite Lord Business, but she didn't mean anything by it. I promise."

At that moment, Emmet thought Bad Cop looked very old, older than he had looked ever before, even older then he had looked at the hospital. He looked ancient. "I'm not mad at her, Emmet," he said, his jowls sagging against his chest. "I' m glad she threw the party for me. I probably shouldn't have raised my voice at her. Tell her I'm sorry, and that I thank her for the party, but I just got out of the hospital, Emmet. I want to go home. I miss Ma and Da." His voice started to crack.

Emmet was really starting to feel sorry for the old man. "Don't worry, Bad Cop," he said. "I'll take you home, and I'll make sure to tell Lucy you're sorry."

Dennis laid a hand on Emmet's shoulder. "No, I'll take him home," he said, squeezing Emmet's arm. "We got a lot of talking to do anyway."

Bad Cop groaned. "Not more talking," he said. "My throat already hurts from so much talking."

"Okay," Emmet said, going over to the door. "Just be careful." He opened the door

Getting behind Bad Cop's wheelchair, Dennis grabbed the handles, and pushed Bad Cop out the door. "Bye," he said.

"Bye," Emmet said, opening the door for them. "I hope we see each other again soon." After he had helped Dennis carry Bad Cop down the steps, he gave them one final wave and shut the door, letting out a big sigh of relief. Gathering up his courage, he went to his room to reassure Lucy, feeling like he was getting out of one battle and going into another.


	9. NINE: Battle In The Streets

Nine:

Battle In The Streets

"Can I come in?"

Lucy looked up, hearing Emmet's voice on the other side of the door. "No!" She folded her arms under her breasts and turned away from the door, hearing a faint sigh from behind the door.

"I know you didn't mean that, so I'm coming in anyway." Emmet said, and the door began to slide open.

Lucy groaned. "What was the point in knocking then?" she asked.

Emmet walked to Lucy, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I know I kind of came in here unannounced, and I'm sorry for that," he said, "I had to come and talk to you about Bad Cop, though." He took a deep breath, letting out one, by the look on his face, he hadn't known he had been holding. "He looks bad, Lucy. I mean, I know he just got out of the hospital and everything, and that he's not going to look all that great, but he looked sick, Lucy. He's loosed so much weight…I hate to say it, Lucy, but I don't think he has much longer, if you know what I mean."

Lucy sniffed. "I know," she said, rubbing a hand across her face. "I shouldn't have made him come. It was too soon. I should've waited to have the party -"

Emmet squeezed her hand. "About that," he said. "Bad Cop wanted me to tell that he was sorry, and that he didn't mean to yell at you. He said thank you for the party, and that he was glad you did it. He was just tired Lucy. He just wanted to go home."

"I know," Lucy said. "I'm not even crying because he yelled at me. I know he didn't mean it. I'm crying because he's breaking my heart, Emmet. It broke my heart to see him like that."

Emmet pulled her close. "I know," he said, hugging her. "It was hard for me, too."

"He just looked so little, Emmet," Lucy said. "He felt as light as a feather when I picked him up."

"I know," Emmet said. "Lucy, is there something else troubling you?"

Lucy gave him a suspicious look. "How did you know?"

Emmet smiled. "I can just tell," he said.

Lucy gave him another shove in the shoulder, but didn't him hard enough to hurt this time. "Yes, there is something else bothering me, and it's been bothering me for awhile now" she said. "How come you always blush when you kiss me in public? Are you embarrassed by our love or something?

Emmet gaped at her, beginning to stammer. "N-no, it's not like Lucy," he said, holding his hands up in peace. "It's just that…I can't believe a beautiful girl like you would fall for a looser guy like me. I don't deserve you, Lucy. I'm just an average, useless, no-good-for-nothing nobody, and your smart, pretty, tough..."

Lucy kissed him on the cheek "I don't think you're a looser, or a nobody," she said.

Emmet couldn't hide his surprise. "Really?" he asked.

Lucy laughed. "Really, silly," she said. "And I'm flatted that you think of me that way, Emmet. I really am."

Emmet blushed. "Oh…" he said, at a loss for words.

They sat in awkward silences for a few minutes,

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

Emmet jumped up off the bed. "I thought I heard the phone ring," he said, running out the door. Lucy followed him.

Emmet was the first to answer the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

An unfamiliar voice answered."Hello, is this the Emmet residence?"

'Yes," Emmet said.

"This is Harold , the Chief of Police," Harold said, clearing his throat. "I've called to inform you that we have a break in the case."

"What is it?" Emmet asked.

"We know who ran over Bad Cop," Harold said.

* * *

Dennis pushed Bad Cop along the side of busy street in Bricksburg, watching the people go by. "I know this a stupid question, but how was it?" he asked, glancing down at Bad Cop. "Your time in the hospital."

"I died."

Dennis froze. "Really?" he asked, pretty disturbed by the thought of Bad Cop dying. "They didn't tell me that." He shuddered, realizing, for the first time, he couldn't imagine a world without Bad Cop in it. "So, how was it, dying?"

Bad Cop shrugged. "No big deal, really," he said.

"It didn't hurt?" Dennis asked, finding that hard to believe.

Bad Cop shook his head. "No," he said. "I don't see why people make such a big fuss about it. It was just like waking up in the morning, only instead of waking up in my bedroom, I woke up in this big white place, and there's nobody there but me, and I'm floating -"

"Floating?!"

"Yes, floating," Bad Cop said, sounding annoyed. "Why is that so hard to believe? I was dead, remember? You don't think I'm lying, do you?'

Dennis shook his head. "No, I believe you," he said. "Go on with your story."

Bad Cop continued. "Anyway, I'm floating, and I think I'm the only person in this strange white place, right?"

Dennis nodded.

"Wrong!" Bad Cop shouted, making Dennis jump. "I'm not the only person there. There is someone else there with me, only I don't know who it is until they turn, and I see that it's Vitruvius."

"Who?"

"You wouldn't know him," Bad Cop said. "He went with us on our last journey, but Lord Business cut his head off and then he died. I thought I told you that?" He looked over at Dennis, saw the blank look on his face, and shook his head. "Guess I didn't. Anyway, I see that it's Vitruvius, and he tells me I'm in purgatory, you know, the limbo where people go to when they don't know where to go after they're dead, but then he tells me that it's not my time to die, yet, so he sent me back here for some reason."

"So he sent you back?" Dennis asked, amazed by Bad Cop's story. "Wow…"

"Yeah, and that's the end of it," Bad Cop said. "Now don't ask me about it anymore. I

Dennis stopped, getting the sudden urge to let go of his bladder. "Do you mind if I stop here?" he asked, crossing his legs. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Sure, knock yourself out," Bad Cop said.

Dennis headed for the door of the store. "You want to come?" he asked, stopping.

"No," Bad Cop said, his gaze distant. "I want to stay out here. I'm tired of being cooped up inside all the time. I want some fresh air."

Dennis stared at Bad Cop, worried about his friend. "Okay, if you're sure you'll be all right," he said, and went into the store, feeling tat

* * *

After he had made sure Dennis was gone, Bad Cop gripped his cane, and rose from the chair. He hadn't told Dennis, not wanting to worry the boy, but he felt like someone had been following them all the way from Emmet's apartment, and he wanted to find out if his suspicions were correct. He limped into a nearby alley,

"Man, you just won't die will you?"

Bad Cop froze at the familiar sound of the voice, recognizing it from somewhere, but not knowing where. He had heard it from somewhere before. Bending over his cane, he turned, around to face his pursuer.

Bad Cop found himself facing a boy, a boy about Dennis' age. His lengthy, ebony hair hung down to his shoulders, framing his angular face.

"You don't know who I' am, do you?" the boy asked, smirking.

Bad Cop pointed his cane at him. "You're the one who ran over me," he said, struggling to keep his balance.

"Yes, but you don't know my name," the boy said. "You don't know who I work for or nothing."

"No, but I can guess," Bad Cop said. "You hang out with Alex and his cronies, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "You can say that," he said. "Since you had to know and couldn't leave well enough alone, I have to kill you now." His finger hovered over the trigger.

Just as the gun went off, Bad Cop threw himself to the ground, screaming at the pain the little stunt caused him. Wheezing, he began to crawl on the pavement, hoping he could reach the boy before he fired the gun again, but knowing he didn't stand much of a chance.

The boy stood over him. "You're pathetic," he said, and without warning, slammed his foot down on one of Bad Cop's hands. He could hear bones snap and brake in his fingers.

Bad Cop howled, tears running down his face, and tried to hide his other hands under his stomach before the boy slammed his foot down on that one, too, but he was too late. Just as he was about to slide the other hand under his stomach, the boy brought his foot down on it, too, breaking a couple more of his fingers. Pretty much crippled, Bad Cop convulsed on the ground, unable to get up. He lifted his head, only to be kicked in the face. The boy had broken his nose this time, and blood was pouring down his face.

"You really thought you could beat me?" the boy said, swinging his foot into Bad Cop's side, and Bad Cop felt a couple of his ribs break. "You, a weak old man?" The boy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifted him up, and started to drag him out of the alley. "I'll show you."

Bad Cop heard the click of gun.

The boy froze.

"Put him down."

Bad Cop recognized Dennis' voice.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, spinning his head in every direction.

"It's none of your business," Dennis said. "I said put him down. _Now_."

"And if I don't?" the boy asked.

"I shoot you, kill you right here and now, and you don't get a fair trial," Dennis said. "The police know you did it, _Zack_." Bad Cop knew he put heavy emphasis on Zack's name on purpose, letting the boy know he knew exactly who he was. "I just got a call. If you kill him now, you're going to prison for life. If you let him go, you get a few years. If it was up to me, I'd go ahead and kill you, because I don't think scums like you deserve to live, but that's just how the system works."

Zack snorted. "What system?" he demanded, waving his gun above his head. "This system?" He dangled Bad Cop in the air before tossing him to the ground, throwing him like a rag doll. "I'll show you how good your so-called system works." Bad Cop flinched, expecting to fill another bullet shoot through him, but none came.

Just as Zack had fired the shot, however, Dennis sailed over Bad Cop, tackling the boy. "You don't have to tell me how the system works," he said, wrestling Zack to the ground. "I know how the system works." Managing to the punch Zack in the face, he penned one of the boy's arms behind his back, trying to keep him paralyzed long enough to pry the gun out of his other hand. "I think it works pretty well."

Zack spit in Dennis' face. "You think it works well when it's going your way," he said, to get out from under Dennis. "You think you're better than everybody just because you're a cop, but you're just like everybody else." Keeping his gun out of Dennis' reach, Zack punched him in the face, and stood up. "You like the system until it works against you, then you turn against it." He aimed the gun over Dennis' shoulder, and was getting ready to fire it, when, Dennis, after much struggle, pulled the gun out of Zack's hand at last.

"Like I said, the system works," Dennis said, and penned the boy's other arm behind his back, handcuffing him.

Dennis ignored the boy's ranting. Getting his phone out of his pocket, he dialed for an ambulance, and knelt down beside Bad Cop. "You all right, big guy?" he asked, trying to hold on to the boy with his other hand.

Bad Cop stared up at him, his eyes dazed. "I think…I' am…just a little bruised, is all…Dennis…" he said, trying to find Dennis' hand with his own. "Dennis…don't take me back to the hospital…please…I don't want to go back there…I'm fine…I'll be all right…"

Dennis grabbed his hand. "No you're not, Bad Cop," he said, inspecting the damage. "Your hurt. " He only had to take one look at Bad Cop's fingers and could tell they were broken. He Your hurt bad. You need to go to the hospital."

Bad Cop gasped for breath. "Please…" he said, beginning to hack.

"I'm sorry, but I already called the ambulance," Dennis said, tears in his eyes. "They're coming."

Bad Cop's mouth trembled. "Just don't…leave me…Dennis…please…" he said tears running down his own crumpled, withered face. "I'm scared…Dennis…"

"Don't be scared, Big Guy," Dennis said, and gave his arm a soft squeeze, remembering his fingers were severely damaged. "I promise I won't leave you. Just don't die on me, okay? If you promise me that, I won't leave you, okay?" The entire time he spoke, his eyes never left Bad Cop's. "Promise me that, won't you?"

Not knowing what else to do, Dennis sat over Bad Cop's small, broken body, and waited for an ambulance to come.


	10. EPILOGUE: A Christmas To Remember

Epilogue:

A Christmas To Remember

When Christmas did come, for real, Lucy and Emmet held a party at Emmet's apartment, and they had invited all of their friends. Dennis, Unikitty, Benny, Bad Cop, Kelly, Metalbeard, and even Lord Business showed up.

Much to everybody's relief, there was no animosity between Bad Cop and Lord Business this time, like there had been at Bad Cop's homecoming party. At Lord Business' arrival, Bad Cop's face had switched to Good Cop's, and he had forgiven him for everything he had ever done to him.

Good Cop shook Lord Business' hand. "Thank you for the money," he said. "You didn't have to give it to me, though."

Lord Business clapped Good Cop on the back, almost knocking him over. "I know, but I felt like I had to, after everything I did to you," he said. "Besides, it was the only thing I had that I could think of to give, and I had plenty of it."

Good Cop dug in the pockets of his jacket, before he pulled out the giant wad of cash Lord Business had given him for his homecoming present. "But I don't feel right taking it," he said, handing the money over to Lord Business. "Take it back." He shoved the money in Lord Business' face. " _Please_."

Lord Business shook his head, pushing the money away from his chest. "No, you keep it," he said, being quiet insentient on the matter.

Good Cop switched back to Bad Cop. "Fine, if you want to be that way about it," he said, jamming the cash back into the pocket. "I don't know what to buy with it, though."

Lord Business cocked his head toward Bad Cop's parents, who were sitting on the couch together, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders."Buy your parents something," he said. "I'm sure they would appreciate whatever you would give them."

Bad Cop's face grew thoughtful. "You know, that's not such a bad idea," he said, his hard expression softening. "Thanks for the tip." His voice was gruff, as always.

Lord Business looked pleased. "You're welcome," he said, walking over to the table where the rest of the gang was sitting.

Watching the exchange, Emmet smiled, shaking his head. Bad Cop hobble over to the couch, leaning

Bad Cop had recovered faster than any of them thought he would. He didn't need to use the wheelchair anymore, and could now walk around with the aid of his cane. Emmet knew he would never be the same, though. He would always walk with a limp now, and it was painful to watch him move around. His movements were stiffer than they had been before, if that was even possible.

The party went on long into the night. Somehow, at some point during the celebration, Emmet and Lucy had found themselves standing under the mistletoe.

"Kiss!" everybody urged them.

Emmet could feel his face turning red.

Lucy pinched him in the shoulder. "Come on, Emmet, let's do it," she said, her face glowing and radiating with joy. "We've got nothing to lose."

Emmet began to stutter. "Y-yeah, I guess your right -"

Without even giving him time to finish the sentence, Lucy gave Emmet a big kiss, and Emmet returned it.

Everybody cheered.

After a few seconds locked in each other's arms, both Emmet and Lucy pulled away from each other, grinning.

 _This_ , Emmet thought, _was going to be a Christmas to remember_.

The End


End file.
